How To Engage Social Media With Your Press Release
Press releases are a great way to connect with journalists and other media representatives to share the most important news about your company. The goal of issuing a press release is, of course, to get media pickups in newspapers, magazines, top websites and blogs, and more. But you can get even greater mileage out of your press releases by adding social media to the mix.
Press release distribution services
In order to get the widest distribution for your press release, you should be using a free or paid service. Many of these services have social media share buttons. Therefore, you can click to share the press release as soon as it is up on the site.
Your blog
You can also publish the press release at your blog and include share buttons, which you can then use to post the link to your social accounts. If you are using WordPress, a plugin like AddtoAny Share offers dozens of sharing options.
Include multimedia
Images and video tend to make a press release more shareable.
Write a great headline
The headline will often create the link for your social media site, so be sure it is something interesting that commands attention.
Create “tweetable” quotes
Create call out quotes in reference to the press release that can work well as tweets. Try to stick to 100 characters or less.
Write naturally
Don’t fill your press release with jargon or industry terms. Instead, write naturally so the content is accessible to every reader.
Make your target audience your central reference point
While it is true that your press release is designed to grab the attention of journalists, it is also true that they are not the end consumers of your data. If they give you a media pickup, their readership will be.
The best press releases and content speak to the needs of their target audience. Imagine you want to get more subscribers. The best way to build a list is to offer a free item such as an ebook, white paper, special report, or e-course. But it is entirely your choice as to the topic. Think of a “pain point” or problem most people in your niche encounter, and build your free item around it. If the media reps can see it is genuinely useful, they will give you the pickup, and it will certainly also get a good amount of social media shares.
Include social sharing as part of your overall strategy
Don’t just hope for it as an end result of publishing a press release. Create content you know will be shareable by people interested in your niche. Consider posting the link in a group, running a sponsored post, or creating an ad. While it is true a press release is not a sales letter for your product or service, it is also true that it provides factual detail about it, which can be enough for some consumers to want to learn more. A press release has no hype, so it is less likely to turn off consumers who would otherwise feel there is some sort of scam going on.
Issue releases regularly
Many companies issue one release, don’t get great results and give up. The truth is that regular issuing of press releases will build your brand online and in social media, so more and more people will start to pay attention to you and be willing to share your content.
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